' i BIRD CALLKKi. 



toes armed -with .sti-oiig curved claws. By means of these poweiful 

 weapons they arc able to seize and kill their prey and to tear up the 

 flesh. They are monogamous, and the female is generally larger than 

 the male. The eggs are few in number, and the young when hatched 

 are in a naked and helpless condition. 



Three families are recognised, the first including the Vultures 

 {Vulturido'), the second the Eagles and Hawks [Fakoniche], and the 

 third the Ospreys {Pdhdinnithe). 



Family I. Vultirid.i;. ^ ri/rriiEs. 



[Case.'s These Birds of Prey inhabit the tropical and subtropical portions of 



45, 40 f|,(, oifl World, where thev represent the Turkey Vultures (Cat /lart idee) 



and ■ 1 ■ ■ 



Table- of America. As has already been mentioned above, they diflcr from the 



'^'''^'^-J latter birds in many important particulars, but in their habits they arc 



vei-y similar. They feed chiefly on the carcases of dead animals which 



their keen sight enables them to discover, and though many naturalists 



have maintained that it is chiefly by the sense of smell that they find 



their prey, there can be no doubt that this is a mistake, as has been 



])roved by experiments. Their claws being short and rather blunt. 



Vultures rarely attack and kill living animals : they arc cowardly 



sluggish birds, endowed with extraordinary powers of flight. 



[Ciii^L- 4.",.j The Cinereous or Black Vulture ( F. ///o««<:-//«6) (829), ranging from 

 Southern Europe to China, is the only rcpresentati\e of the genus 

 Viilliir. It is rather solitary in its habits, l)rpeding' singly in trees and 

 [Table- not in colonies like the Griflon-Vultures (Gi/ps fidrns) (830), all stages 

 easi-. yf •^^]l;p],^ from the nestling to the adult, will be found exhibited in the 

 adjoining centre Case. This southern European species is one of the 

 most familiar, and is specially numerous in Spain, where it breeds 



[Case 4").] in caves in the jjerpcndicular crags of the Sierras. Another represen- 

 tative of tlie genus is the Himalayan Griffon-A'ulture (G. hiin(daijensh) 

 (831), and a closely allied form the White-headed ^'ulture [Lophogypx 



[Case 4c..^ occijj/falis) (832) will lie found on the floor of the next Case together 

 with the Sociable or Eared Vulture [Otuyyps aurlcularis) (833) and the 

 Egyptian Vulture [Neophron percnopterus) (834), which has on more 

 than one occasion wandered to Great Britain. 



Eaniily II. Ealcoxid.i:. Eagi.es axu Hawks. 

 (Plates XV., XVI., XXIV.) 



[Case 4(1." Almost all the remaining Birds of Prey are included in this family, 

 and are divided into six subfamilies, the Caracaras {Pohjhorhue), the 

 Long-legged Hawks (Accipi/rinte), the Buzzards {Bideoiihice), the 

 Bearded \'ultnres (< hjiia'cliiuc'] , the Eagles [Aqtiilina/], and the Faleon> 



